Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1887-07-08

IN the ranks, and in the dense under
growth on the flank Of the column a
noise is heard, a furtive, intermittent
noise, as of AN animal moving through
the wood.
"What is it?'' cries the c~ommandant,
raising his head and listening: ''spies of
the enemy, perhaps; we may be fol-
lowed" And they search the border of
the wood with anxious care. The noise
stops for a moment, only to commence
again, but the cause of it remains undis-
covered. A gray light had now begun
to show itself behind the hills; day was
breaking; they had been marching for
six long, weary hours.
Gradually, as this gray light mounts
and grows, the situation of these worn
out men assumes an aspect more lament
able and sinister still. Night had helped
to conceal their misery, but in the COM
ing morning they look upon each other
with positive alright. for their visages
are cadaverous and dirty, their bodies
doubled as if broken in two. and all the
dust. the mud and filth of the battle and
the road are grimed into their flesh by
the sweat. Spots of red, fast turning
black, spatter their ragged clothing; the
better part of them are wrapped about
the heads with blood stained bandages,
and all are %grOaning and shivering with
the chill of the air from the water.
Suddenly from the head of the column
the commandant calls Halt but with
a voice so grave and melancholy that the
soldiers tremble with a presentiment of a
new misfortune. They are right, for on
both ei1ao &C tl,,, ,ix.. n ,1,1r;.. &C ll,,1-
ened timbers rises from the water-it is
all that remains of what was once the
bridge of La Fourche! The Meuse still
rolls before them, tranquil and deep!
Every n breaks into a run at first,
and contemplates the ruin in stupid ST.
lence; then cries and groans arise on ev-
cry side. the despairing ones grimacing.
railing and rolling upon the ground in an
agony of rage and disappointment. Others
throw stones and curses at the water
which injured them, while others break
their guns and drop upon the earth to
sleep. Occasionally a laugh is heard,
but it is only the laugh of some fevered
dreamer, amused with the trick which
fate has played him. AT one side the Of
ficers cluster in a group, sad, disheart-
ened and with lowered heads.
All at once a soldier throws aside his
clothing and stands before them naked.
They believe him crazy, and rush to seize
him. He is not crazy, however, at least
not in the way they suppose. A moment
later he is in the water. Twenty others
initiate him at once, but the rapidity of
the current sucks them in-they are help
less and go down, holding up their arms
to heaven.
No matter, others do the same thing,
even the wounded and those exhausted.
1t is a contagious madness, and nothing
is heard but the cracking and splash of
the water under the successive shocks of
the plunging bodies. The officers COM
mand, beseech, adj jUre-no one listens!
Carried away, one after another, 100 mel
are drowned in the waves before the very
eyes of their comrades.
Who knows, or who can tell, whether
it is an attempt at escape or deliberate,
courageous suicide!
In the midst of this vertigo, this megri1n
of death, the bushes suddenly open and
An old peasant, rough, hairy as a horse
and little better than a brute or savage,
appears upon the scene.
There is a ford he cries-''a ford,
you fools! Wait and hear met They
do hear him, these poor, despairing ones.
The tidings run from man to man, and
simple as children, they are comforted
and at once take courage.
From where do you Gomez" demands
the commandant,% approaching and begin
ming to question him.
From the country roundabout" the
peasant answers.
Was it you who was following us
along the road;"
Yes"
"Alone:"
Eyes, Alone
"Well, where is this ford?"
"a league from here-that way" and
the man points in the direction from
which they had just come.
Then we passed it"
Yes"
"And you knew the bridge was de-
stroyed?'
Yes"
"Why, then, did you allow us to take
this useless journey
ut was necessary"
"How necessary"
The old man laughs, then explains;
they were pursued; the German cavalry
would be IN them in less than three
hours; if the traces of their steps stopped
suddenly upon the bank above the ford,
it would have betrayed at once the exist
ence of a passage, and that they had
crossed at that place. 1t had been neces-
sary that they should go on to confuse
and mingle their footprints by a return;
then the Germans would hunt a long
time before they would find out how the
French had disappeared.
True" assents the commandant;
''but show us the way at once"
An hour later the fugitives had crossed
the river, with the water to their arm
pits even at the ford, for the stream was
very full.
Thanks, my friend, " cries the COM
mandant, the last to leave the bank, as
he holds out his hand to the old man;
thanks and adieu."
"Adieu!" responds the peasant, resum.
ing the road.